THE body of a one-year-old girl was charred beyond recognition after a fire gutted a row of apartments in Sampaloc, Manila Tuesday morning.
The remains of the girl, identified as Raizza Dillage, daughter of Rachel Dillage, was retrieved by fire fighters from the Manila Fire Bureau beneath the rubble of their rented apartment along Quezon Boulevard.
Aside from Dillage, also injured during the blaze were Henry Tupada, 38; Marnel Loriano, 19; and Creenel Olongano, 24. They all sustained minor injuries while trying to save some of their valuables from their burning houses.
Senior Fire Officer Emmanuel Gaspar said the fire, which started about 5:33 a.m. at the unit of a certain Rodolfo Lindo at 940 Quezon Blvd in Sampaloc, reached the fourth alarm, but was declared under control at 6:40 a.m.
At least 40 families were rendered homeless while some P300,000 worth of properties were destroyed. Investigators are still determining the cause of the conflagration.
The fire quickly spread in the residential area including the rented room of Dillage and Generoso.
In their hurry to escape from the burning building and save their belongings, the couple had forgotten to fetch the baby.
It was only during the mopping operations of the firemen that they found the baby’s remains. (JCV/Sunnex)